The band was originally formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990 by friends Merritt and (percussionist/pianist/vocalist) Claudia Gonson. While 1991's Distant Plastic Trees and 1992's The Wayward Bus (now most easily available together as a compilation, The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees) are sung by Susan Anway (b. 1951 - d. 2021), all subsequent albums are principally sung by Merritt himself.
Longtime members include: Gonson, (cellist) Sam Davol, and (banjo player/guitarist) John Woo. Contributors include (but are not limited to) the singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms, and LD Beghtol, and the accordionist/writer Daniel Handler (famous for writing the childrens' books A Series of Unfortunate Events under the alias Lemony Snicket).
Their most popular and best-selling album to date is 69 Love Songs issued on Merge Records as a triple album filled with many fairly short songs that are reminiscent of early Beatles productions.
The album is notable for its employment of many unorthodox musical arrangements and downright impressive quantity of material presented. Instruments used on this album include the ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, piano, flute, xylophone guitars, various percussion instruments, and a standard setup of synths and effects. It features several guest vocalists on several different tracks. The album is a three CD set, released in the US as three separate albums (also available as a boxed set) and in the UK as a triple album.
The album i (2004, Nonesuch Records) continues Merritt's fixation on the concept album, with each of the 14 songs beginning with the letter (and often the pronoun) "I".
The album Distortion, was released through Nonesuch on the 15th January 2008 and introduced noise pop to the array of styles utilized in their music. The album's release was followed by a sold-out U.S. tour starting in February. Additional albums followed in 2010, 2012, 2017, and 2020.
Stephin Merritt is involved in several other musical projects: The 6ths (featuring different guest performers on every track), The Gothic Archies (songs dealing humorously with dark themes) and Future Bible Heroes (with music written by Chris Ewen)
http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/
Blue You
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The stars in the sky harmonized
Singing it too
And I, far below
Was singing low and slow
For you
And I know
All the world was singing the blues
The President played the saxophone
Sounded so along
It was on the news
And from Ursa Minor
In what looked like an all-night diner
Came lonely luminous creatures
Whose only human feature
Was singing the blues
Soft and low
The blues was singing the blues
The dead in their graves
And the gods in their caves,
They'd been waiting so long
To sing the blue song
About you
The Magnetic Fields’ “Blue You” is a poetic and melancholic yet playful exploration of the universality of human emotions. The main subject of the song is the color blue, which appears as a metaphor for sadness and longing, as well as a unifying force that transcends racial and social barriers. The first stanza sets the scene: the moon and the stars are singing the blues, and so is the singer who is singing low and slow “for you.” The second stanza expands the scope of the song: now even the Queen and the President are singing the blues, and on the distant planet of Ursa Minor, there are “lonely luminous creatures” singing the blues with their only “human feature.”
Amidst this vast collective of blue singers, the song suddenly zooms in on the person who seems to be at the center of it all: “you.” The final stanza suggests that everything in the universe has been waiting for “so long” to sing the “blue song” about this mysterious you. The use of the second person pronoun creates a sense of intimacy and also leaves the identity of “you” open to interpretation. Is it a lover, a friend, a muse or a symbol of something else entirely? The ambiguity of the song’s meaning is part of its charm and appeal.
Line by Line Meaning
The moon was singing the blues
The night sky was filled with a melancholic tune
The stars in the sky harmonized
All the celestial bodies joined in to create a unified melody
Singing it too
Even the stars sang along with the moon in a sorrowful chorus
And I, far below
The artist was separated from the sky's lament, existing in a different world
Was singing low and slow
The artist was also singing his own mournful tune for a specific person
For you
The melancholy song was dedicated to someone special
And I know
The singer was aware that his lament was just one amongst countless sorrowful songs
All the world was singing the blues
The sadness was not exclusive to the artist, but shared by everyone and everything
The Queen was singing the blues
Even the powerful and famous could not escape the sorrowful atmosphere
The President played the saxophone
Even the leader of a country tried to express his emotions through music
Sounded so along
However, his performance did not quite match the melancholy mood that enveloped everything
It was on the news
His efforts were still recognized and shared with the rest of the world
And from Ursa Minor
From a faraway constellation, something unexpected occurred
In what looked like an all-night diner
A scene reminiscent of a late-night eatery was suddenly revealed
Came lonely luminous creatures
Strange beings, full of light but without company, appeared
Whose only human feature
Despite their unearthly nature, these creatures shared a commonality with humans
Was singing the blues
Their only form of expression was also a sorrowful song
Soft and low
Their sorrowful tune was almost a whisper, but still filled the air
The blues was singing the blues
The sadness of the world existed within the very song that expressed it
The dead in their graves
Even the deceased, buried and beyond the reach of the living, were not immune to the melancholy
And the gods in their caves,
The divine beings, omnipotent and far removed from earthly woes, were also affected
They'd been waiting so long
The sadness had been building for a long time, and finally reached its breaking point
To sing the blue song
The song was a release for those that had been holding onto their sorrow for so long
About you
The entire song was inspired by and dedicated to that one special person
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Written by: BILL MACK SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SingerKevinMichael
The brilliantly written short film "O Beautiful" brought me to seek this out. Very haunting and yet seductive, it was the perfect theme for the movie and for just sitting back in a dimly-lit place to contemplate and imagine.
luludiamant
Hauntingly beautiful
rcarlos
it's like a fusion of "cirrus minor" with "moonchild"
Alexander Moss
spot on comparison
Hakim
You're killing me Stephin.
hernan ledesma
this song remind me of "My Dear Country" by Norah Jones
Stephen O' Farrell
O beautiful brought me here too! ha - it's responsible for a whole new fan base ..
Sucheta Dasgupta
a short film about love
MISS BRAÚNA
NECESSARILY DARK, OR ELSE IT WOULDN'T BE GOOD.
Scott Wood
me too :)